


making the bad things go away

by writingkilledreality



Series: the bird and the gemstone [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, 5+1 Things, Age Difference, Comfort, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, One Shot, Self-Doubt, Worry, i loved writing this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-20 06:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8240092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingkilledreality/pseuds/writingkilledreality
Summary: "You make it better," she said softly."Make what better?" Qrow asked absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on bandaging another cut."The bad things," she answered, catching Qrow off guard.***OR: Five times Qrow comforted Ruby and the one time Ruby comforted Qrow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i loved writing this. it took FOREVER. but i loved writing this. it's a long one.

_i._

Ruby had always been one of those kids that got hurt a lot growing up. She loved taking risks and, in Taiyang's opinion, got a thrill out of it. She was the kid who would nose dive off the living room couch and jump off the swing at its peak. Over the years she had gotten a variety of injuries including broken bones, nose bleeds, cuts, and bruises. Her getting minor injuries was a regular thing, which would result in her running to someone crying. That person was usually Qrow since Ruby has always had a hero crush on the man.  

When Ruby got hurt climbing a tree, she automatically sought out Qrow. The five year old had been climbing the tallest tree she could find when about a quarter of the way up she had lost her footing and fell. After recovering from the initial shock, the tiny girl had gotten up carefully and ran crying into the house. She found the man she was looking for in the living room asleep on the couch, like she knew he would be. Qrow was a man of habit and, even in her young age, Ruby knew that after a long, far away mission he could be found sleeping on the couch, usually at strange hours of the day. The man was never fully able to make it all the way to his bed; Taiyang often joked that Qrow was lucky to even get into the house when he was that exhausted.  

Ruby stopped in front of the couch and reached out a hand to poke him in the eye. The man stirred before waking up.  

"Ruby?" he questioned sleepily. Ruby let out a soft whimper as a reply, resulting in Qrow sitting up, mostly awake. He scooped the girl up and held her close as he rocked her back and forth, trying to get her to stop crying.  

"Little red, what's wrong?" He pulled a leaf from her short hair, examining her for any injuries. There was no serious injuries that he noticed, simply some cuts and forming bruises. Ruby definitely needed to activate her aura sooner rather than later before she ended up cracking her skull open.  

"I fell," she answered between her cries.  

"Fell from what exactly?"  

"T-tree," she whimpered as Qrow pulled away from their embrace.  

"The tree out front? The one your dad and I repeatedly told you not to climb because you would get hurt?" he asked as Ruby nodded guiltily, looking down. Qrow let out a sigh before getting up and carrying the red hooded girl to the kitchen. He set her on the counter before moving to grab some bandages and antiseptic spray from the first aid kit. He was silent as he set down his supplies and began cleaning one of the deeper cuts on the five year old's arm. Ruby stared up at him expectantly as he finished bandaging the first of many cuts.   

"Yes?" he questioned, not looking at her as he made sure the bandage was secure before dropping her arm.  

"Kiss better," she pouted, holding out her bandaged arm. He glanced up at her as she gave him her best puppy dog eyes. He gave her a small smile before taking her pudgy arm and lightly kissing over the bandage. Ruby smiled fondly at him and offered up her other arm. Qrow chuckled to himself before once again tending to the girl's injuries.  

"I think I finally know why you always come to me when you get hurt. You're just using me for hugs and kisses to make it feel better." Ruby nodded happily, all traces of her previous crying gone. "It's good to know I'm being used."  

"You make it better," she said softly.  

"Make what better?" Qrow asked absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on bandaging another cut.  

"The bad things," she answered, catching Qrow off guard. He glanced up at her before straightening up and leaning on the counter behind him.  

"There's always going to be bad things. Sometimes bad things just happen. The world can be a scary place and I can't promise that you'll never be hurt or in pain. But I can promise you that I'll _always_ be here to make the bad things better. You will _always_ have me to make it better."  

"Always?" she whispered. Qrow reached out and pulled another leaf out of the girl's hair before brushing a stray piece of hair out of her eyes.   

"Always," he promised.  

* * *

 

_ii._

Thunder boomed outside as Ruby watched the rain stream down the window. Lighting flashed outside, lighting up the pitch black room with a brilliant white light. The sound of rain hitting the roof and the occasional boom of thunder filled the silence.  

The ten year old couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried, she never could when there was a storm. Normally, she would go to Qrow and fall asleep in the comfort and safety of his presence; however, Qrow wasn't home to comfort her. That was another one of the reasons she couldn't sleep. Ruby had always been unable to sleep when Qrow was due to come home from a mission. Even when he himself wasn't completely sure, she had somehow always known when he was going to be home.  

Qrow had said he was going to be home late, but he had yet to show up and Ruby was exhausted from it. Qrow had left a week ago and in that week, it had yet to stop storming. Therefore, Ruby had been losing precious hours of sleep. Rather than laying in her bed and staring at her ceiling for hours on end, she decided to wait in the living room for him to return. She had somehow gravitated to the window in the passing hours.  

The thunder boomed again, shaking the house to it's foundations. Ruby closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the heavy rain mixed with thunder, finding no comfort in the sound. To her it sounded like the storm could collapse her whole house at any moment. She glanced up at the next roar of thunder, hearing the turning of a doorknob. It sounded like music to her ears. The front door opened quickly and was closed just as quick. Qrow stood there, soaking wet, trying his best to wring out some of the water soaked into his clothes. Ruby stared at him for a moment, a warm happiness building in her chest, before silently getting up and grabbing a clean towel.  

She reentered the room, towel in hand, silently handing it to the wet man. He gave her a smile as he dragged the towel over his head and any exposed skin. He gave her a grateful pat on the head before disappearing off to go change.  

Ruby roamed back to the window, sitting in the exact same spot as before. The rain had lessened a bit, receding to a heavy shower instead of a typhoon. She reached out and dragged her finger down the window, matching the speed of a raindrop.  

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" Qrow questioned out of nowhere. Ruby didn't even have to turn around to know he was leaning against the wall. She knew him well enough to just know and it was written perfectly into his voice.  

"The power went out a couple of hours ago," Ruby answered, tracking a new raindrop with her finger.  

"Then why didn't you go to sleep?" 

"I can never sleep when you're coming home," Ruby replied simply as Qrow nodded to himself in agreement.  

"You look tired," Qrow said gently as Ruby gave out a sigh.  

"I am." There was no point lying to Qrow, especially not about something so trivial. "The storm kept me up too."  

"Ruby, you look like you haven't slept properly in days," Qrow spoke as he pushed off the wall and made his way to sit on the couch.  

"I could say the same about you," Ruby retorted, turning to face him. Lightning lit the room again, revealing the man's features she couldn't quite see in the dark. The man had heavy, dark bags under his eyes and sunken eyes that looked like they'd seen their fair share of evil and trauma. The man in front of her simply looked tired, not just physically but emotionally.   

"I've been on a mission," Qrow said defensively, a slightly childish argument brewing in his tone.  

"It's been storming all week," she grumbled as Qrow let out a sigh, something he did quite a lot around her. The man was obviously not in the mood to argue with the girl, not that he ever wanted to argue with her. Instead of saying anything, he held out a hand to her. Ruby stared at him defiantly, not moving to get up.  

"Please," Qrow breathed out," It was a long mission." Lightning flashed once again and the broken look he wore told her that he needed her to anchor him, to remind him that he was home, and safe, with her. It also told her that he would go on a binge soon if he couldn't escape the demons he'd seen this mission fast enough. Ruby got to her feet and made her way to the couch, sighing in content as Qrow's fingers wrapped gently around her wrist. Qrow lightly tugged her down to the couch so that she was sitting next to him. Ruby scooted closer to him, tucking her legs under her. Qrow winced at the contact she made with his arm, causing Ruby to jump in surprise and worry.  

Before Ruby could question him with her concern, Qrow said, "I'm fine. It's just a cut. Someone just got lucky enough to get a hit in on me." He added a chuckled at the end, trying his best to calm the girl's concerns, though he had the inkling of a feeling that she wasn't going to drop the topic.  

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked anyway, like he expected her to, "It sounded like it hurt." Ruby moved to examine the cut but Qrow grabbed her wrist and stopped her before she could.  

"I'm more worried about you," Qrow told her, releasing her wrist.  

"Me? What about me?" Ruby inquired with confusion.  

"I know you've always been unable to sleep when I come home from a mission. I respect that. You've always had a talent for being able to sense when I come home. I respect _that_ , I'm used to it. You've always had issues sleeping during storms. I respect that. Like I said before, I'm used to it. I'm okay with it because it's a habit now. It's been happening for ten years now. What I'm not okay with is the new habit you've picked up during my last couple of missions," Qrow began.  

"What are you talking about?" Ruby questioned, legs now pulled up to her chest, listening intently to what he was going to say. She always listened carefully to everything he said, one of the many things Qrow admired about her.  

"During these last couple of missions you haven't been sleeping properly. And you keep making up excuses. This time it's a storm, the time before that you had to study, and the time before that you were sick, and the time before that—"  

"I get it."  

"Ruby, what's going on? You've never done stuff like this before. You usually never deprive yourself of sleep, but now you're doing it all the time. What's going on?"  

"I'm getting older," she said roughly, turning to Qrow to see if he'd argue with her. Instead, Qrow waited quietly and patiently for her to continue, not pushing her. Ruby stared at him before reaching out to Qrow, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt. This time he didn’t attempt to stop her. Instead, he watched her with interest, waiting to see what she would do. She couldn’t see the cut very well in the dark, but she definitely felt the raised skin of what certainly would be a scar. "I understand things more now. You've always told me that being a Huntsman was dangerous. I understand that. I _know_ that being a Huntsman is dangerous and that you could get hurt. I've always kind of known that. But now I'm starting to realize that you could never...you could never—never come back." Her voice cracked at the end and Qrow felt his heart break with it.  

"Ruby—"  

"I'm scared you're not going to come back, that you're going to get _really_ hurt. And...that fear keeps me up at night," Ruby spoke, fear obvious in her voice.  

"Ruby, I'll come back. You know that. I'll always come back," Qrow told her.  

"Mom didn't come back," Ruby whispered. Qrow's face softened as he moved to crouch in front of her. He grabbed both of her hands in his as Ruby searched for his eyes in the dark.  

"I'm not going anywhere," he said softly.  

"How do you know that? Every Huntsman says they—"  

"Not every Huntsman has you," Qrow interrupted," And Yang and your dad." Ruby could tell that Yang and her father were added as a second thought, though he loved them just as dearly.  

"You can't make a promise like that. You can't possibly know that you'll always be okay." Ruby said, shaking her head to herself.  

"You're right. I may not always be okay and I can't predict everything that's going to happen," Qrow agreed with her as Ruby shook her head even more. That obviously wasn't what she wanted to hear.  

"Exactly! You can't control anything! And that scares me!" she cried, "So, I'm sorry that I haven't been sleeping, but the thought of something happening to you... _terrifies_ me. It keeps me up—" Qrow grabbed her face gently, cutting off her rambling. She sucked in a breath, the sound of the rain filling the silence. "Qrow?"  

"I can't promise you I'll always be okay, you're right about that. But I can promise you I'll always try to come back. I'll _always_ try," Qrow told her, his thumb brushing across her cheek in an attempt to reassure her.  

"Always?"  

" _Always._ "  

"Even the times you don't want to come back?" Ruby questioned in a voice so small that it physically hurt Qrow. He hated that Ruby knew about all of his demons. He hated that she knew almost every detail about him, even the darker things he tried to keep from her. The sound of her voice, the tone that meant Ruby knew exactly what she was talking about, made the flask in his pocket feel heavy. Qrow took in a deep breath, trying to come up with a reply.  

"I always want to come back to you," he breathed out, surprised to find himself not lying, "I will always try to come back."  

"To me?" Ruby inquired hopefully. _For me?_   

"I'll come back to you," he promised. Ruby smiled, glancing up as the lights flickered back on. She met the man's red eyes and smiled at the gentleness present there. Qrow rubbed his thumb comfortingly across her cheek and Ruby couldn’t help but lean into his touch. "Promise me you'll get some sleep?"  

"Promise," Ruby pulled away from the man's grasp, holding out her pinky to him. "Promise me you'll _always_ , no matter what, try to come back to me—to us." Qrow intertwined his pinky with her's, chuckling to himself at her childish antics.  

"There's only one way I'm not coming back to you and that isn't going to happen," Qrow told her as she smiled at him.  

"I believe you." Neither pulled away from their intertwined pinkies, the now soft pitter-patter of the rain soothing both of them.  

"Come on, kid. You need sleep." He got up and offered her a hand, pulling her off the couch.  

They walked silently down the hall to her room, making sure to be extra quiet so they wouldn't wake up Yang. They entered her room as Ruby climbed in her bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin.  

"Goodnight, little red," Qrow whispered, kissing her lightly on the forehead. The man then went to leave, but was stopped by the sound of Ruby calling his name. "Yes?" 

"Do you remember how I always say you make the bad things go away?" she questioned her voice low.  

"How could I forget?" Qrow chuckled.  

"Do I—do I make the bad things go away for you?" she whispered almost silently, as if she was afraid to know the answer.  

Qrow smiled, gentle and meaningful, "More than you'll ever know."   

* * *

_iii._  

Scythes have always been one of the most dangerous weapons known to man, one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed. It was a complex weapon to use and was quite rare. Few people used the weapon and those who tried usually gave up to a simpler weapon after a few tries with it. That was one of the many reasons Qrow was confused as to why Ruby was so determined to learn how to use one. Ruby, though very set on being a Huntress, was tiny. Qrow was sure she would gain more strength, but a scythe was a heavy weapon, particularly when there were added improvements and modifications. He wasn't sure if the small girl could handle it, especially with the dream modifications she had in mind. Nonetheless, he had agreed to begin teaching her how to use the rare weapon. He started her off on a simple scythe. One without the added benefit of being a gun and one he had used when he first started training. 

"Qrow?" Ruby spoke up impatiently, a scythe in her hands. The red hooded girl stood in the middle of a vacant field that Taiyang and Qrow used to train the girls.  

"Yes, little red?" He turned his attention to her, amusement in his features. 

"Can we start now?"  

"Always so impatient," he chuckled.  

"Not impatient, just excited." He smiled, moving to the center of the field where she was. He moved to grab the weapon from her hands as she took a step back.  

"You've been showing me and teaching me about a scythe and how to handle it for like...two weeks now. Let me try first hand!" Ruby said, giving him her very best puppy dog eyes. He never could resist her puppy dog eyes and she knew it.  

"Ruby, a scythe is a dangerous weapon-"  

"I know," she groaned with exasperation, "But I'll never learn if you don't let me try."  

"I don't want you to get hurt." Ruby smiled fondly at that.  

"Like you've said before, being a Huntsman is a dangerous profession, one that we both chose. Everyone gets hurt eventually. Besides, I think you've taught me well enough." He looked her up and down before sighing.  

"Fine," he said, "And just a reminder, you're not a Huntress yet. You've barely even started your training." Ruby rolled her eyes as he took a few steps back out of her way. She smiled and began swinging the scythe around like Qrow showed her.  

She kept practicing with Qrow giving her tips on her hand placement and movements every now and then. She struggled with the weight but continued on despite it. After what felt like hours, the weight started being too much for her, leading to her making careless mistakes. One of her swings were sloppy, resulting in the weapon going off balance and cutting at her leg.  

"Ouch," she yelped, dropping the scythe and examining the hole in her tights. The bleeding cut had healed thanks to her aura, but there was still a run in her tights. "Aw man, I love these tights." 

"I think we're done for today," Qrow spoke up.  

That's how it went for weeks. Ruby would train with Qrow in the field, her moves would get sloppy and she would accidentally get hurt. Ruby was starting to get irritated at not only herself, but the scythe as well.  

After a particularly hard day, Ruby found herself knocking on Qrow's door.  

"It's open," he called out. The red hooded girl opened the door and stepped inside, making sure the door was closed behind her. She stood in the middle of the room, staring at her boots as she dug the toe into the floor.  

"Everything okay?" Qrow questioned. He knew her well enough to know when something was bothering her. "Ruby?" She glanced up from the floor and looked at him. He patted the spot beside him on the bed as she sighed and sat next to him. She leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't push her or question her further; he knew she would tell him what's wrong in her own time. He leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling with her in silence.  

After a couple of minutes of dead air and a few knocked knees, Ruby finally said, "I think I wanna change my weapon."  

"Why?" he asked, surprise in his voice.  

"Because I'm not good at it! I keep making mistakes and getting hurt!" she cried, throwing her arms in the air.  

"Ruby-"  

"I'm never going to be as good as you. I just don't have that natural talent for it like you do," she said softly, dropping her arms. At that remark, Qrow let out a laugh, a full whole-hearted laugh. Ruby glanced over at him, confusion and hurt written all over her features. She probably thought he was agreeing with her or making fun of her.   

"Ruby, you have a natural talent, trust me. If you didn't have a natural talent, you would be injured way worse than you have been or even dead if you made a big enough mistake. Do you think I was always this good?" Ruby raised an eyebrow at that as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, I may have jokingly said I've always been this talented, but we both know that's not true. When I first started using a scythe, I got hurt just like you, if not worse. It just takes practice and hard work. But it mostly takes time. You shouldn't give up just cause it's hard. You have always had a natural talent when it comes to fighting. You're naturally a Huntress, it's in your blood. Besides the studying aspect, this is the first time you've ever struggled with anything like this. You'll just have to work through it. You can become an amazing Huntress and I personally think you have the ability to be a scythe master, you just have to work for it." 

"Will I be better than you?" she questioned with a smile.  

"I wouldn't go _that_ far," Qrow said as Ruby laughed. She turned to stare back up at the ceiling, a comfortable silence filling the room.  

"Thank you," Ruby spoke up.  

"For what?"  

"The pep talk. I really needed it."  

"No problem, little red."  

"You've always had a way of making me feel better about things," Ruby mused. Qrow didn't say anything to that. Instead he remained mute, letting the quiet consume the room, bumping knees with the red clad girl every now and then.  

* * *

 

_iv._

The library was quiet and relatively empty as Ruby sat at a monitor, waiting for the video call she was making to go through. She was glad to have the library mostly to herself. She didn't want Yang or any of her new friends and teammates to interrupt her call. Ruby perked up at the sound of the call being answered and connected. All of the weight that she had been feeling disappeared once Qrow's face filled the screen.  

"Ruby," he smiled, obviously happy to see her. Their goodbye had been a hard one and she missed him already, so seeing his familiar face and smile was comforting.  

"Hi," she breathed out, a smile spreading across her face.  

"Missing me already?" Qrow questioned jokingly.  

"You have no idea," she sighed, "No one says 'hi' _quite_ like you." A frown formed on the man's lips as his eyebrows knitted in worry, despite the sweet comment about his greetings.  

"Is everything okay? You've formed teams, haven't you? Are you not getting along with your teammates?" he bombarded with concern. 

"No, no. I'm fine. It's nothing like that. I'm making friends and getting along with my team...well most of them. I just miss you still; none of my new friends are you and nothing really compares to you," Ruby explained quickly. The fond smile Qrow usually wore when talking to Ruby returned to his face as he leaned back in his chair.  

"I miss you too, little red. Now, tell me about your team and new friends," he said, his arms crossing across his chest.  

"Well, there's Jaune, he's nice, but I don't think he's very good in a fight. Anyways, I'm friends with him and his team, team JNPR. There's Nora, she's a bit crazy, and Ren, he's really quiet, kind of like a ninja. Then the last person on team JNPR is Pyrrha, she's really nice and totally awesome in a fight," Ruby told him.  

"Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl? The four time winner of the Mistral regional tournament?" 

"The one and only," Ruby laughed.  

"Okay, you've told me about your friends outside of your team, tell me about your team."  

"Well, Yang's on my team, and she has her partner Blake. She's cool, kind of quiet and mysterious. But she likes books, so we have that in common, and we've been getting along well, so that's good. Then I have my partner Weiss-"  

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company?" Qrow interrupted.  

"What have you been doing, reading gossip magazines? First Pyrrha, now Weiss. Geez, maybe I don't know everything about you. _Apparently_ you're all up to date on the gossip. But yes, Weiss Schnee. Now, will you stop interrupting?" she complained as Qrow gave her a soft, playful glare, "Weiss is...she's...we're...we're working on it. We sort of had a rough start. I exploded when I first met her, so it wasn't exactly a great first impression."  

"You had a meltdown on the first day?" Qrow inquired with amusement.  

"No, I literally exploded!" Ruby exclaimed. She glanced around the library nervously, hoping no one was paying attention to her. She really didn't want to get in trouble for being loud in the library, especially during the first week of school.  

She turned her attention back to the monitor before mumbling, "Why does everyone assume I had a meltdown? Like some toddler who's always throwing temper tantrums." Qrow chuckled before running a hand through his hair.  

"I'm sorry for assuming things, please continue," he said as Ruby sighed.  

"I just don't think she likes me very much," she mumbled, glancing down at her hands in her lap.  

"Impossible," he said in that gravelly voice of his. The corners of her mouth twitched up the slightest bit as she looked back to the screen. "Who's team leader?"  

"I'm team leader actually. Leader of team RWBY," she said quietly.  

"Congrats, kid," Qrow said with a proud smile.  

"Thanks," she mumbled.  

"Ruby," Qrow began, gaining her attention. He was giving her that look. It was warm and affectionate but mixed with worry and concern; the look that meant he knew something was wrong. The look he always gave her before she spilled her guts and every thought and worry she's ever had to him. "Why did you really call? It can't be just because you miss me." 

"I don't know if I should be leader. Professor Ozpin said that he didn't make a mistake choosing me, but I'm not sure. I mean, Weiss definitely thinks I shouldn't be team leader. I'm a fifteen year old surrounded by seventeen year olds and everyone here sees me as a child because of that. I don't have as much training as everyone else since I skipped two years. I don't think I'm the right pick or that I can even be a leader, especially a leader they deserve," Ruby told him. Qrow gave her a look of  sympathy and understanding before sighing and leaning forward in his chair.  

"If Ozpin said he didn't make a mistake, then he _didn't_ make a mistake. I know Oz and I know you, he didn't make a mistake choosing you. You were accepted into Beacon early because you showed the skill and passion of a true Huntress. You are at the same level as any of those kids, you may even be better. You belong at that school and you deserve the title of team leader. Besides, who cares what the Ice Queen thinks, you'll just prove her wrong," Qrow said.  

"I don't know if I have any form of leadership skills or if I can even handle being a leader," Ruby said, her voice breaking at the end.  

"Sweetheart," he cooed. Ruby jerked up at the pet name. They rarely ever used pet names or even nicknames, for that matter, except for the occasional little red or Rubs. Hearing him call her such an affectionate name made her stomach flutter with butterflies and her heart swell with affection. "You can do this, okay? You're going to be a great leader. You just have to have more confidence in yourself."  

"You really think I'll do good?" she asked hesitantly.  

"I'm sure of it. There's no one better than you." Ruby smiled, the tension that had been forming in her shoulders eased as she leaned back in her chair. She knew she could rely on Qrow to make her feel better and come to her senses. He always had a way of giving her more self confidence while maintaining her sense of reality.  

"Thank you, I really needed a pep talk."  

"You're welcome, little red. And as for the 'hi' thing, I feel the same.There's nothing quite like your 'hello'." A smile spread across her lips.  

"You've always had a way of making the bad things better," she mused as he smiled.  

"I'm always here for anything you need," he reassured her.  

"Same," Ruby said quickly, "I mean, if you ever need anything, or someone to talk to, or a pep talk maybe, you can always call me."  

"Except those times when you're studying of course," he joked.  

"Same goes for you," she retorted, "For whenever you have a mission." Qrow's easygoing smile faltered and then faded as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair.  

"Speaking of missions, I may have one coming up and it may be fairly long term. I'm not sure though. I'll have your dad tell you if I leave without time to tell you."  

* * *

 

_v._

"There you are," a voice spoke up. Blake and Ruby, who had been wandering through the festival grounds, both stopped and turned to see Qrow making his way to them. "You are a hard girl to find, Ruby Rose." The red hooded girl smiled before turning to Blake, an apologetic look written all over her face.  

"Can we take a rain check on that cup of tea?" 

"Yeah, of course, I have to go find Sun anyways," Blake said, reaching out and squeezing her leader's arm, a rare gesture from Blake. The dark haired faunus gave her one last wave before disappearing into the festivities. The young girl quickly turned around to Qrow, a smile on her face.  

"Hi," she grinned.  

"Hi," he smiled back at her.  

"Hi," she repeated, her tone sounding very dazed.  

"No one says 'hi' quite like you," Qrow said as Ruby's smile expanded, something Qrow would never get tired of seeing, "Walk with me?"  

"Are you sure? I thought you were too old to be hanging out with a kid," Ruby teased, "I don't want to cramp your style or anything."  

"I'll risk it for you," Qrow quipped back. Ruby grinned and soon found herself tucked under Qrow's arm, right where she felt at ease. She could feel Qrow relax too as he pressed her into his side. They began their walk, venturing around the festival to no place in particular.  

"We haven't really had a moment to be alone," Ruby spoke up after a while.  

"No, we haven't," Qrow agreed in a false cheer, much to her annoyance, "Why, did you miss me or something?"  

"I did miss you," Ruby pouted, crossing her arms.  

Qrow chuckled, nudging her slightly. "Don't be like that. You know I missed you. I missed you more than words could _ever_ describe." 

"I missed you. _A lot_. It's weird not seeing you most of the time," Ruby told him as he nodded in agreement, "When are you leaving?" Sadness filled her voice, along with a hint of loneliness. Qrow knew that Ruby was never truly alone, but he himself understood the feeling she was going through. It became lonely when no one a hundred percent understood who he was. And it became even lonelier when the one person who understands was far distances away. Ruby reminded Qrow so much of himself, that's why they got along so well, why they understood each other. But like Qrow, Ruby had issues relating to people a hundred percent. Sometimes it got lonely even with friends around.  

"I'm not sure," he answered, his arm tightening around her small body, "But I'm fairly certain it won't be a short visit. I'm not like Winter, I'm not going to leave in the next few days." Ruby nodded, her features still slightly sad. Because even if Qrow wasn't leaving that day or even the next few, he would have to leave eventually. "Come on, little red. Enjoy our time while we have it."  

"Torchwick calls me that," Ruby blurted out of no where.  

"What?" Qrow questioned, surprised by the random comment. He'd been away from Ruby way too long if her random comments were catching him off guard.  

"Little red. Torchwick always calls me that whenever I have a run in with him. Red. Little red. I think he does it to taunt me or make me angry or something. But all it does is make me miss you," Ruby explained, "Sometimes it makes me want to kick him in the shin." She could tell by the look on his face that he was a mixture of unhappy and proud. Proud of the fact that she wanted to kick bad guys in the shin. Unhappy with the fact that she had ran into said bad guy enough times for the nickname to be considered normal and taunting. Qrow seemed to be struggling with what emotion should overtake everything. But when he settled his eyes on Ruby and the message she held in her silver orbs, _'I miss you, please don't go'_ , he decided to let the unhappiness go.  

"Come on," he whispered, guiding her through the maze of booths.  

"Ruby!" The hooded girl turned around to see the Ice Queen herself running towards her.  

"What do I owe the pleasure?" Ruby asked.  

"Have you seen Yang?"  

"No, I have not," Ruby answered as Weiss sighed, mumbling something about Ruby not keeping track of her team.  

"We were supposed to go watch some of the fights together. But I can't find her anywhere," Weiss complained, "Do you want to go too?"  

"I'm actually kind of busy right now," Ruby said as Weiss glanced over at Qrow, only now noticing him.  

"I see," she mumbled, taking in Qrow and his arm wrapped around Ruby.  

"Qrow, this is my partner Weiss. Weiss, Qrow," Ruby introduced quickly.  

"We've met," Weiss said stiffly," He drunkenly shoved me aside by face. He touched my face and pushed me aside and then proceeded to get in a fight with my sister."  

"Your sister's easy to rile up. Always has been," Qrow chuckled as Ruby deflated slightly.  

"Ruby, I've say it once and I'll say it again, suddenly your recklessness makes sense," Weiss told her as Ruby forced a smile, her mind still on the Winter comment.  

"I'll see you later. And if you see Yang tell her to get to the colosseum." Weiss waved off in a very Weiss fashion, leaving Qrow and Ruby alone again.  

"Well, she's...something. A lot like her sister." Another deflation. "She's the one you didn't get along with at first, right?" Ruby nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment. She couldn't get the Winter comment out of her head. She couldn't get the way Qrow provoked her and somewhat teased her during their fight. And she definitely couldn't get Qrow's story about his latest mission out of her head. Ruby couldn't quite describe the feeling. She had never felt like this before. Was this jealousy? Pain? Heartbreak? She wasn't sure, but she knew it stung. It stung her eyes, heavied her chest, and consumed her mind.  

"Ruby?" The Huntress-in-training jumped at her name, turning to face Qrow. "Are you okay?" She opened her mouth to speak but found the words caught in her throat. Instead, she gave a stiff nod, her head swimming with the thought of Qrow and Winter or any other female. Just the thought made her nauseous. Qrow's eyebrows knitted in confusion and worry as he moved to stand in front of her. He placed his hands on the side of her face, trying to make eye contact with her. But Ruby kept avoiding his gaze. "Ruby." Her eyes felt heavy and her mind blazed with questions and worry. "Sweetheart." His voice was filled with worry and it hurt.  

"Can we go somewhere private?" she whispered so low that she was surprised Qrow heard her. He gently forced her to look at him, her eyes closing instinctively.  

"Sweetie," Qrow tried again.  

"Please, let's go to my dorm." His thumb wiped under her eyes, brushing away some stray tears that she didn't notice. Ruby felt him wrap his arms around her and pick her up. She was used to this feeling. Qrow had been carrying her around her whole life. She loved the feeling of being in his arms, and even with the stinging in her heart and eyes, she found comfort in being in her arms. She gulped in air and tried to keep her silent tears from turning into sobs. Everything had finally hit her. She was at Beacon, away from Qrow. He was a Huntsman, a handsome one at that, he was bound to attract the attention of other females. She was a trainee Huntress, a fifteen year old one, and she felt stupid to think that he would wait for her.  

"You have to unlock the door," Qrow said softly.  

"What?" she mumbled, turning in his arms to see her dorm room. She must have zoned into her thoughts because that was a shorter journey than she would've expected. Qrow set her on her feet and she unlocked the door, entered the room, sitting on Weiss' bed. Ruby watched as Qrow entered the room, closing the door behind him. She sniffed once, trying to control her emotions. Qrow walked over to her and bent down to her eye level.  

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" he questioned gently, wiping at her damp cheeks. They didn't keep things from each other. They always told the other how they were feeling, no matter how hard. It was one of the many reasons why they understood each other, trusted each other. Ruby sighed glancing down at her folded hands, letting out a sniffle.  

"You're off on your missions and I'm here. You're an actual Huntsman and I'm just a fifteen year old trainee. I get that. I get that we're at different parts, we always have been. Nothing's changed, except...I don't see you anymore, I don’t have you every day. And your off on your missions most days cause you're a Huntsman, an attractive one at that—not that I've noticed—but you're bound to get female attention. You come back and tell stories about innkeepers' skirts. And you come here to Beacon, you tease and provoke Winter. You know Winter and you enjoy messing with her. And it hurts, that I'm here and you're there. And it hurts that...hearing you talk about...it hurts. Thinking about you with...it hurts and it makes me sick to my stomach. It hurts. And I'm so stupid to think that you would even wait around or want...me," Ruby explained the best she could.  

"Rubs, nothing has changed, you said so yourself. There's some distance but it's only temporary. And that innkeeper story, you know I was joking. And even if I wasn't, it wouldn't matter, it wouldn't be a real. I mess with Winter because she's easy to mess with and I have to work with her occasionally. It makes the job more fun for me. Little red, I'm so sorry that this distance is hurting you, but you need it to become a Huntress. And what do you mean thinking about me with—" Qrow raised his eyebrows in surprise, then it turned to realization. "You're scared I'm going to be with someone else. That I'm not going to want you anymore."  

"I'm only fifteen, your feelings could change about me. It hurts that your not... _mine_..." Qrow let out a full hearted laugh as Ruby deflated even more into herself. After his fits of laughter died down, he looked up to see sad silver eyes.  

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm not laughing _at_ you, I promise. Come here." Qrow pulled her down into his lap, burying his face in her shoulder.  

"Then what are you laughing at?" Ruby pouted.  

"Ruby, I am one hundred percent yours. Maybe not officially because—"   

"I'm too young and not ready," Ruby interrupted, having memorized the excuse years ago.  

"Exactly. For a long time you've been the only person I want, little red. And my feelings aren't going to change now of all times. I would never have told you about my mutual feelings if I thought they were going to change." Ruby made a face that told him she didn't believe that whatsoever. "Ruby Rose, I _love_ you. I'm _in_ love with you. I've been in love with you for a long time now and you know it. Don't you ever doubt that. _Ever._ " Qrow held the small girl close and placed a chaste kiss to her temple.  

"So you're not going to go find some other girl on a mission—"  

"Ruby, I've been on missions for years now. I've never even felt anything close to what I feel for you with another woman. You're the only one for me. The only reason you think it's different now is because you're not at home. You're here, where you're meant to be. That's the _only_ difference. I promise," Qrow said softly. Ruby wrapped her arms tightly around Qrow's torso, burying her face into his chest. She breathed in his scent, relaxing into something normal for them. He smelled like a mix of weapon's oil, reminding her of all the times they spent together improving her weapon, smoke, the good, sweet, earthy type of smoke or the type of smoke that forms after shooting a weapon, and alcohol, the smell that was now embedded into his skin and as long as it wasn't from a recent binge, it wasn't the worst smell in the world. Overall, he smelt like home to her.  

"I'm sorry. I overreacted and jumped to conclusions. I acted childish and I'm sorry for that," Ruby apologized, her voice muffled by his shirt. Qrow automatically pulled away from their hug, making her face him.  

"Don't apologize for your feelings. _Ever._ Do you understand me, Ruby Rose? You _never_ have to apologize for your feelings, and you _especially_ don't have to apologize to me. You are allowed to feel what you feel. As you have pointed out many times today, you're _only_ fifteen. You're allowed to be jealous, and hurt, and vulnerable, and in love. Hell, you're allowed to be all of those things even at my age. You're _allowed_ to be all of those things. I have always wanted you to have normal teenage years. You have a lot to learn and still some growing up to do, and in that time you're _allowed_ to be confused and emotional. You're allowed to have emotions, both positive, and, negative, and, childish, and mature, and everything else in between. You don't always have to have everything put together," Qrow told her seriously, pulling her close once more.  

"Thank you," Ruby smiled, "You have always been the person I could go to for comfort. No matter what. For as long as I can remember, you've made everything better. It's always been you."  

"Like I've always said—"  

"I know," she grinned, pausing to take in the silence around them. She felt at home and comfortable in his embrace. And she wanted to relish in it for as long as she could. "Qrow?" He hummed in response as she buried her face into the crook of his shoulder. "Can we just stay like this for a little while longer?"  

"Whatever you want," he chuckled, the vibrations of Ruby's voice traveling up his neck.  

* * *

 

 _\+ i._  

Darkness consumed the room as Ruby stared at the ceiling. She was supposed to be getting more sleep, resting up. Both Qrow and her father agreed that she needed to rest more after what she did. But she still wasn't quite sure what _exactly_ she did. Qrow had said she was special, like her mom, but she didn't feel special. She just felt...like Ruby, like who she had always been. Then again she hadn't always done things to freeze giant Grimm to the school, or things that had her aching all over.  

But if she was so special, some powerful, silver eyed warrior, then why did she feel so small right now? How was she supposed to save anyone when she felt like this? How could she be a Huntress when she couldn't even save her friends? How was she supposed to sleep? How could she? The world practically blew up around her and she was supposed to just sleep in bed? She was supposed to be resting, but all resting meant was thinking about the people she couldn't save. It meant wallowing in self pity and thinking about all of the 'what-if's'. Exactly what her father had been doing for years. Ruby loved her father very much, but she refused _to be_ her father.  

Ruby climbed out of her bed and walked into the hall. It was late out so both Taiyang and Qrow should have been in their rooms, retired for the night. Yang didn't so much as glance out into the hallway, so Ruby wasn't too worried about her. She walked into the pitch black living room, sinking to the couch. She grabbed a blanket that was thrown across the armrest and wrapped herself in it. So far, her migration to the living room had not helped the way she wanted it to. Now she was alone to her thoughts, in the dark, in a bigger room. She considered waking up Qrow, preferring his company to the dark quiet. But she knew that he needed to rest up just as much as her and Yang. Ruby got up to go back to her room but stopped when she heard something outside. Ruby glanced out the front window, quickly coming to the conclusion that the noise came from the back. Ruby made her way to the back of the house, blanket wrapped tightly around her, stopping when she noticed the backyard light on. Taiyang didn't normally turn it on, so it was safe to assume that someone was out there.  

Ruby opened the door slowly, relaxing when she saw Qrow sitting on the back steps. His back was to her, his head leaned back slightly, chugging the liquor in his flask. Ruby felt a stab of pain in her heart. She hated when he drank; she understood why he drank, but she still hated it. She hated that he had gone through so much sadness, seen so much trauma that he felt the need to numb the pain with alcohol.  

"Can't sleep?" she questioned, leaning on the door frame. Qrow turned to look at her, flask still near his lips.   

"No," Qrow answered, looking back to the woods. Ruby moved from the doorway, sitting beside him on the stairs, her shoulder brushing against his.  

"Yeah, me neither. I just keep thinking about the 'what if's'. What if I got to Penny in time? Got to Pyrrha in time? What if I saved them? What if I had stopped Cinder?" Ruby told him, looking for comfort in the person who understood her better than anyone.  

"You'll spend a lot of time doing that with this job," Qrow said, taking another swig from his flask, "Thinking about what could have happened and blaming yourself." Ruby glanced over at him, analyzing everything about him. He was obviously drunk. But not the usual drunk that caused him to do dumb, impulsive things that usually got him in trouble. Instead, it was a sad drunk. His eyes were glassy and sunken, holding a deep sadness to them. His eyes were red, his face slightly puffy as if he had been previously crying. The man in front of her looked completely broken, like he had lost something in the trauma. Qrow only got like this when he was trying to get his mind off of something that was troubling him deeply.  

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked gently, using a tone he had used a thousand times before when talking to her.  

"Yeah." Another swig.  

"Qrow, you don't seem fine. You're drinking. A lot. And—"  

"I said I'm fine," he snapped. Ruby fell silent as Qrow sighed, ripping his fingers through his hair, getting up from the steps.  

"If you were fine, you wouldn’t be yelling at me," Ruby spoke softly. She locked eyes with him, her stare sad and worried. "Please, let me make the bad things go away. _Please_." The man turned away from her, gaze to the forest surrounding the house, flask to his lips. Ruby felt the sudden urge to throw that flask into the woods. "Why won't you ever let me help you?" That hit a nerve. 

"I'm supposed to take care of you! Like I always have," Qrow yelled, whipping around to face her. Ruby looked down at her hands, Qrow's frustration and sadness coming off in waves, hitting her square in the chest. 

"We're supposed to take care of each other," she whispered in a voice so low that Qrow could barely hear her in the silence. But he heard her and it suddenly broke through his drunken state who he was talking to. Ruby the girl who understood him better than anyone, the girl who, even after him snapping at her, still looked at him with love and understanding. The girl who had just lost two of her friends and had her entire team broken up. Ruby, the girl who tried no matter what. Ruby, the girl who saw the best in everything, including him, _especially_ him.  

"Ruby, I'm the adult, you're the kid, I take care of you," Qrow told her calmly.  

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Ruby said," And I'm not a kid anymore, Qrow. I'm a Huntress for crying out loud!"  

"No. No, you're not a Huntress. You're a Huntress-in-training. And that was made obvious in that battle at Beacon," Qrow said sternly. In his drunken state, he had yet again forgotten who he was talking to and had let his frustration out. But in his defense, Ruby was beginning to get frustrated and angry too. The pajama clad girl got up and stalked her way over to him, the wet grass gliding across her bare feet as she went.  

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby questioned, glaring up at him.  

"You were reckless, Ruby! And careless!" Qrow shouted, "You went running off to go fight Torchwick by yourself and you went running up the tower to fight Cinder! _By yourself!_ "  

"I was trying to save people and regain control of that ship! And I was trying to save Pyrrha! I was trying to save my _friend_!" Ruby yelled back, "I already lost one friend, I didn't want to lose another one."  

"Just because you had your reasons doesn't make it any less reckless! If you would just stop and think for once—"  

"I didn't have time to think! Huntresses have to rely on their instincts. _You_ taught me that."  

"You're not a Huntress, Ruby!" 

"I'm training to be! And in case you haven't noticed we don't have time—"  

"God dammit, Ruby! I could have lost you!" Qrow screamed, causing her to fall silent in shock, "What if Torchwick had hurt you or thrown you off that ship? What if you got up that tower and Cinder killed you along with Pyrrha? That's the 'what if's' that keep _me_ up at night. I almost lost you, Ruby. Do you realize how terrified I was when I got up the tower and you were unconscious? Pyrrha was gone, a giant Grimm was frozen to the school, the world practically  exploded and I was terrified for _you_. I was so close to losing you. Do you have any idea what would happen if I lost you? Raven walked away, Summer died, Yang is crippled both physically and mentally, but losing you would be the breaking point. Everything would go spiraling into a hellhole and I would never be able to get out. I _could have_ lost you." Any anger from earlier was now replaced with a broken sadness and tears. Qrow sat back on the steps as Ruby watched him, frozen a distance away, her face soft in understanding.  

The man wasn't even trying to contain his tears. Instead, he let them flow freely, his face in his hands. This was a man who had felt the pain of losing a love and teammate to the cold grip of death and felt the pain of watching his sister walk away from everything. This was a man who had experienced and seen his fair share of tragedy and trauma. Yet the idea of losing this tiny, red cloaked, fifteen year old girl is what it took to break him completely. What it took to subdue him to tears.  

Ruby soundlessly made her way to the man, crouching down in front of him like he had done for her an infinite of times before. Qrow straightened out, not wanting Ruby to see him so...broken? Scared? Sad? All of the above? Ruby could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen Qrow cry and on every occasion he always tried to toughen up for her. To be strong for her.  

"Hey." She gently lifted his face up. "Don’t do that. Don't shut down your feelings. You're allowed to feel what you feel." Her thumb brushed across his cheek. "Just like I'm allowed to take care of you. Because that's what love is. It's taking care of each other. And you're not the only one in love." He gave her an unbelieving look as Ruby lightly smacked his cheek. "Qrow Branwen, I _love_ you. I'm _in love_ with you. I've been in love with you for a long time, but you already knew that. So, don't ever doubt that I love you. _Ever_." Qrow was silent, only sighing in content when Ruby ran her fingers through his hair.  

"Look, I know why you were so worried and so scared. Trust me, I know. I've been there a thousand times before on every mission you've ever been on. I understand. But, like you told me a million years ago, there's always going to be bad things. Sometimes bad things just happen. I can't promise you that I'll always be okay or that I won't do something 'stupid' or 'reckless', because that's just who I am. But I can promise you I'll always try to come back to you." Qrow opened his mouth to argue but Ruby quickly stopped him.  

"I _came_ back," she said sternly, "I'll come back. You know that. I'll always come back. I'm not going anywhere. Especially not when I have you to come back to."  

"Little red—"  

"You fight to stay alive for me. I fight to stay alive for you." Qrow watched her for a moment before leaning his forehead on her's.  

"You remembered all of that?" Qrow questioned after a moment, causing Ruby to giggle.  

"I remember everything you say. Always have," Ruby told him. Qrow gave her a small smile and Ruby was convinced that no one had ever looked at her with so much love and adoration.  

"Ruby—"  

"I know."  

"You don't even know what I was going to say."  

"Doesn’t matter. I already know." He gave her a warm smile, one only reserved for her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I scared you."  

"No. I'm sorry. If you've ever felt the slightest bit like what I feel right now, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for all of the times I've been gone and you've felt like this," Qrow apologized.  

"It's okay," she reassured," It's part of the job."  

"I love you, little red. And I'm so lucky to have you. I wouldn't trade you for the world." He paused for a minute as if he was struggling on his words, "Thank you for not dying," he breathed out like a weight had been lifted from him.  

"I love you, my little bird," she said, adding a pet name that had him rolling his eyes, "And I'm not going anywhere. Just like you're not going anywhere. Now come on, let's head inside. We can take a nap on the couch." She got up and went inside with him, leading him towards the living room.  

"Your little bird?" Qrow whispered as Ruby glared playfully at him.  

"You call me little red."  

"Cause you're little," he laughed, sitting on the edge of the couch.  

"Well little bird rolls off the tongue better than bird or my bird," Ruby defended, moving to stand between his legs. She moved to jokingly push on his shoulders, but Qrow caught her hands, lacing their fingers together.  

"You could come up with something more creative," he chuckled.  

"My birdie?" 

"Get off the bird nicknames."  

"Scarecrow," she announced as Qrow looked at her with amusement.   

"No."  

"But—"  

"No."  

"Fine," she groaned, "Anything for you, my love."  

"Your love?" Qrow asked as Ruby shifted slightly. 

"Too much?"  

"No, I like it," Qrow said softly as she smiled.  

"Can I still call you the other nicknames?" Ruby questioned excitedly.  

"Whatever you want."  

"Even—"  

"Don’t call me scarecrow. I'm serious, Ruby." She laughed, nodding in agreement. Qrow unlaced their fingers and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the center of her palm.  

"Thank you for making the bad things go away," he whispered, interlacing their fingers again.  

"It's my job. And I owe you some. You've always done it for me." 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3  
> comments make me a happy writer :)


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